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Dueling Chick-Fil-A Demonstrations; Romney Back in the U.S.; Players Accused of Trying to Lose; Drought Cripples Midwest Crops; Apple Stock Split?; Olympic Twitter Trolls; Boy Dies after Doctors Discharged Him; Snoop Dogg Becomes Snoop Lion
Aired August 01, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the Newsroom, the greatest ever swimming sensation Michael Phelps smashing the record books for winning his 19th Olympic medal. A chance at history being made again this morning as the bullet from Baltimore gets back in the pool.
It's happened again. Another needle found in another airline catered sandwich. Just two weeks after Delta had to deal with the same issue. What's going on?
Controversial coverage. The mandate requiring employers to provide free birth control to women kicks in today. Critics say it's the beginning of the end of religious freedom. This morning, a gut check.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Bad behavior in badminton. The future of eight players is on the line. Did they throw their Olympic game?
I'm Zain Verjee in London. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
COSTELLO: And good morning. Thank you for being with us. I'm Carol Costello. We begin with Chick-Fil-A appreciation day. And what's become, depending on who you talk to, a fight for religious freedom. Today, hundreds of thousands say they'll show support for Chick-Fil- A's COO Dan Cathy and his stand against same-sex marriage. That includes evangelicals, including the Reverend Billy Graham, who's in poor health. A staffer will deliver chicken and waffle fries to his home.
CNN's George Howell is in Smyrna, Georgia, this morning at a Chick- Fil-A.
Good morning, George.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. According to Chick-Fil-A, today will be business as usual. The company does not officially support this idea that was sparked by once Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, nor will it support the National Same-Sex Kiss Day that is expected to happen on Friday.
But when you look at Huckabee's Facebook page, the page that he created to ask people to sign up, to come out and support Chick-Fil-A today, you'd find that more than half a million people will be showing up to these different stores to show their support. That's what we expect to see at many of the stores today. But, Carol, it really depends upon where you go.
For instance, here in the Bible belt, here in suburban Atlanta, where this company was founded, you find a lot of support as opposed to those cities where the company expanded. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMIAH BAXTER: Well, what gain a man the world if he loses his soul? What gain a few customers just for you to throw away your principles? Who cares about money? Money is not real.
MO BOWERS: Maybe wherever he comes from, that's good business. But in New York, it's terrible. It's terrible policy and terrible business. He should just shut his mouth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So, Carol, we are expecting a lot of people to show up to these stores. Some just looking for lunch. But others who will be showing up to support Chick-Fil-A for this particular issue.
COSTELLO: George Howell reporting live in Smyrna, Georgia, this morning.
As George said, thousands are expected to eat at Chick-Fil-A today, including Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum and Billy Graham. One man has already bought his staff a Chick-Fil-A breakfast. He is Alabama House speaker Mike Hubbard. He tweeted this photo on Friday to, he says, the fourth press speech family vales, and delicious chicken biscuits.
Representative Hubbard joins me now from Birmingham, Alabama.
Good morning, sir.
MIKE HUBBARD, ALABAMA STATE HOUSE: Good morning, Carol. How are you?
COSTELLO: I'm good. Thank you for being with us this morning. This controversy went from an argument over same-sex marriage to religious freedom. Why?
HUBBARD: Well, to me, it has nothing to do with same-sex marriage or the issue. It's about religious freedom and freedom of speech. And what really has angered me and I know others are city officials in Chicago and Boston saying that they will not provide a business license for Chick-Fil-A or retroactively try to take a business license away because of a company president's political or religious views.
And to me, that is just un-American. In fact, it's unconstitutional. And, you know, if it was on the other side, the left leaning people who are outraged at Chick-Fil-A, you know, they are the ones who claim you cannot discriminate and that sort of thing. But now you come out and say that you should not allow Chick-Fil-A to do business because you don't agree with their statement by their company president is absolutely wrong.
And I think it's just an un-American situation. Plus they put out a great product and a great company, and they can do whatever they want to do. If you don't agree with them, then you don't eat at their restaurant.
COSTELLO: Mr. Cathy suggested that same-sex unions were inviting god's judgment and he contributes a lot of money to those with anti- gay agenda. Some of more against Mr. Cathy it's more than just about same-sex marriage.
Did Mr. Cathy go too far in explaining his beliefs so succinct, so literally?
HUBBARD: Well, you know, in America, you can have any religious belief you want. You can make any statement you want. And it's a privately held company. And they can do anything that that they want to do.
And, you know, I believe that I happen to share the same belief as Mr. Cathy, and he has every right to do that. Again, if you don't agree with the policy, you don't eat at the restaurant. But I believe there are a lot of people who agree with it, even on principle, that it doesn't matter what your stances are. Then you cannot cause a company to not have a business license or do business just because you disagree with their policies.
I'm sure there are other companies who have left-leaning agendas, and you don't hear the same argument on that side.
COSTELLO: Representative Hubbard, thank you for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
HUBBARD: It's many pleasure.
COSTELLO: In the next hour of NEWSROOM, we'll talk with Jeremy Hooper from GLAD, that's a gray rights group. He'll tell us about Chick-Fil- A kiss-in and why this has nothing whatsoever to do with religious freedom.
Air Canada launches an investigation after a passenger finds a sewing needle in a catered in-flight sandwich. Air Canada also increasing security. Just two weeks ago, needles turned up in six sandwiches on Delta flights in the United States. So sandwiches came from one caterer in Amsterdam. An Air Canada spokeswoman says the airline uses several different catering companies.
And a United Airlines flight from Newark to Switzerland is diverted after a flight attendant finds a camera in a seatback pocket. The passenger says it wasn't their camera, and the plane was on forced to fly to Boston escorted by fighter jets. It turns out that camera belonged to someone on an earlier flight. Authorities say terrorists have considered disguising bombs using cameras.
Now to Phoenix, Arizona, where rescue crews had a very busy night. Here you see them rescue a baby from a car trapped in floodwaters after a thunderstorm. At one point, the water was four feet deep on the highway. In all, rescuers had to help nine people stuck in their cars in rushing water. Everybody got out OK, though.
It's been one of the more controversial parts of the health care law, and today a mandate for U.S. businesses to provide contraception to employees officially kicks in. Fifty-eight lawsuits have been filed over the issue. Some employers say it goes against their religious beliefs. Birth control is just one of several preventative services the Obama administration says insurers must cover, without charging a co-pay. Including mammograms and screening of all adults for depression, diabetes, and colorectal cancer.
Republican Ted Cruz, he's claiming victory in Texas, winning the primary runoff for the U.S. Senate. This is a big victory for the Tea Party movement after high-profile Republicans, including Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum, stumped for Cruz.
Cruz defeated fellow Republican David Dewhurst. He's been lieutenant governor to Rick Perry for nearly a decade.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is back in the United States after his trip to Europe and the Middle East. That trip is getting some mixed reviews. Some say it was overshadowed by Romney's gaffe on London's ability to hold the Olympics. And his aide's off- color remarks to reporters in Poland. But a Romney adviser calls the trip a, quote, "great success."
And If you want to be the first to know who Mitt Romney picks as his running mate, guess what, there's an app for that. The campaign unveiling a smartphone app called "Mitt's VP." It will send a notification when the name is announced. It's similar to a move by the Obama team four years ago which announced the selection of Joe Biden as VP via text message.
Joining me now is CNN political director Mark Preston.
Good morning, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Carol. You know, I remember getting that text at about 4:00 in the morning when the Obama campaign had announced that it was Joe Biden that they had selected. The problem with that was is that John King had broken the story about three hours earlier. So now we see the Romney campaign with this app trying to come out and try to control the message, so to speak. We'll see if they are successful in doing so.
COSTELLO: Yes. We'll see. Mr. Romney is also planning a big bus tour blitz later this month. Where is he going?
PRESTON: Well, he's going to three battle ground states. This is from our own Peter Hamby, who -- you know, did a little digging and found out what potentially could be the rollout tour or what appears to be the rollout tour of the vice presidential pick.
Mitt Romney on the 11th, on Saturday the 11th, plans to be in Virginia. He's going to hit three media markets, including here in northern Virginia. In the metro Washington, D.C., area. On the 13th, the day after the Olympics, Mitt Romney will head down to Florida. Another crucial state, of course, in the race for president. And then later in the week, Mitt Romney, they are scouting locations for him to be in Ohio.
And then of course there will be a week in between before the Republican convention. And the Romney campaign right now is planning a bus tour. Peter Hamby is reporting right now. You can read the story on CNN.com.
So it just kind of leaves the speculation right now, Carol, when will this pick be announced. And, you know, potentially it could be announced on the night of the Olympics or at least leaked on the night of the Olympics. That's kind of my working theory on that, that they would try to get the maximum amount of people to find out who Mitt Romney chooses by really honing in on those closing ceremonies.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about Harry Reid. Because he had some pretty wild allegations to levy against Mitt Romney. He said he was talking to some anonymous source from Bain, and he or she told Senator Reid that Mitt Romney hadn't paid taxes in 10 years.
PRESTON: Yes. Talk about keeping the Bain story, refreshing the Bain story as kind of been quieted down since Mitt Romney was overseas. But the Senate majority leader told "The Huffington Post" this in an interview they published last night on their Web site, that in fact a Bain investor had told Harry Reid that Mitt Romney hadn't paid taxes in 10 years.
Now there is a story right now where a column on CNNmoney.com where it's very critical of Harry Reid for making this accusation, because as it's written, how would he know this, more importantly how would his source, a Bain investor, know this. And it ticks through how the fact is investors don't know how much or where people are personally invested that are managing their funds.
So Harry Reid can make it -- make this accusation, throw it out there, but the fact of the matter is, we don't know who the name of this Bain investor is. And the Reid's -- Reird's office hasn't said who it is, carol.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I don't think he's going too, either. Mark Preston --
PRESTON: No question.
COSTELLO: Thanks so much.
PRESTON: Thanks, Carol.
COSTELLO: This just in from the Olympics. Get this. Eight badminton players have now been disqualified from the games. The athletes are from China, South Korea, and Indonesia. They are accused of deliberately trying to lose their matches in an attempt to manipulate the draw. Zain Verjee is following the story in London. This is kind of depressing.
VERJEE: Yes. They were shuttled right out, booted out of the Olympics, Carol, for deliberately trying to lose the matches they were playing. Essentially, they were playing and just missing really easy shots, and then when they served, they served straight into the net. The crowd realized what was going on, and everyone started booing.
People were so frustrated just watching this. But basically what they wanted to do was lose the match so they would end up in the next round, which was the quarterfinals, playing a team that was weaker than a lot of the other teams. So that's what happened. And it is depressing. It does cause a negative atmosphere. And it's not sportsman like at all.
But they were trying to manipulate it and they've been disqualified. Indonesia I believe is the only country appealing this decision. But as of right now, they have been booted out.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable. Let's talk about Michael Phelps now. He set a record for the most career Olympic medals. But the head of the London games is saying he's not the greatest Olympian of all time.
VERJEE: Now hold on to your pants there, OK? He is not dissing Michael Phelps entirely here, because no one can take away his amazing victories. You know, he's just been absolutely fantastic. But listen to the way Sebastian Coe put it, and then I'll tell you why he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN COE, CHAIRMAN, LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS: I think you can probably say that clearly by self evidently the medal tally is the most successful. I don't think my personal view is I'm not sure he is the greatest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: They don't get mad at that, OK? But the logic there is that swimming is one of the very few if not the only other sport in the Olympic games where you can get medal after medal, and it just gives you opportunities to bag more of them. And there's so many relays and one swimmer can just keep competing and get all the medals. So if you look at athletes that compete in, you know, marathon running, track and field, any of those events, the decathlon, rowing, cycling.
It's not that -- it's not that they're not the best or the greatest athletes themselves. They don't have as many opportunities to win medals.
I don't know, Carol. It really depends which way you come down on this. No one can take away Michael Phelps' 19 medals. But is he better than Jesse Owen? Is he better than Muhammad Ali? Is he better than Romanian gymnast Nadia Comenici? You know, it really depends how you see what is great. But one thing is for sure. When it comes to defining greatness in Olympics, it's also about reputation, about character, the Olympic spirit. And losing gracefully too. So I think he is a champion on all of that too.
Thank you very much for saying that, Zain. We appreciate it here in the states. Thank you so much. Zain Verjee reporting live for us.
Another battle in the skies. Bird versus plane. Find out who won.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking our top stories, it's 17 minutes past the hour.
Fast food chain Chick-Fil-A remains in the spotlight in. A show of support for the company's president and his stand against same-sex marriage, thousands are expected to eat at the restaurant today in what some are calling Chick-Fil-A appreciation day.
Transportation and Smithsonian bird experts are studying a collision between a United Airlines flight and a bird. The Denver- bound flight with 151 passengers aboard was 25 miles outside of Denver coming from Dallas when the bird hit the plane. No one was hurt, but the collision left the plane with a hole in its nose. The plane landed safely.
In money news, the U.S. Postal Service is likely to default on $5 billion it owes the federal government. The Postal Service borrowed the money to prepay health care benefits for retirees. Postal officials say mail service will not be interrupted, and workers will be paid.
In weather news, parts of the Midwest and South are cleaning up this morning. Severe storms caused so much damage in Oakland City, Indiana, it essentially is shut down. Officials will declare the city a disaster. And in Birmingham, Alabama, strong thunderstorms caused flooding closing several roads. Thousands also lost power.
Actually, rain would be a welcome relief for farmers in the Midwest. The country's midsection has been hit with one of the worst droughts in history. This week, the Department of Agriculture rated only 24 percent of the nation's corn crop in good to excellent condition. That's the worst rating since 1988.
Christine Romans is in her native Iowa getting a first-hand look at the problem. And she's in a popular breakfast spot at the general store in Le Claire.
Good morning, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. I tell you, the mood here is pretty resigned. That's the best way to describe it. I mean, these guys come here and have for years every morning, having breakfast, talking about what, you know, the crop looks like. What the challenges are in the field. Why isn't there rain? Please, more rain.
And they have still got some high hopes for the bean crops if they can get some rain. Carol, you're going to see the beans could have a decent month of August. They go into the ground a little later than the corn. This corn crop is baking out there in the fields, and they are really worried about that. They know they will not have a crop like last year, and they just worry about how bad it will be.
Listen to what some of the regulars here were saying about the corn crop this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Is this as bad as '88?
MARTY RUWE, RETIRED FARMER: I think maybe a little worse. It started earlier. In '88, it kind of happened later and then it dried up.
BRUCE DEXTER, IOWA FARMER: It looked like it was going to rain, and then nothing developed.
ROMANS: So frustrating.
DEXTER: It looked really good early, and then it's just worse and worse and worse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Here is the Iowa optimism. The farmers are pointing out other farmers are worse off than they are. Parts of Indiana, Missouri, southern Illinois are much, much worse than they have it here. They keep pointing out that after 1988, when it was just billions and billions of losses, most farmers do have crop insurance.
But still, I mean, that doesn't mean they are going to be covered completely in some cases. And it also means that they are not running out to buy a new truck, not out there to buy some new farmland. They are not able to rent more farmland to farm because they are just trying to figure out what's going to happen with this year's crop.
So a lot of uncertainty still. All the hope is in the beans. Please, if it would just rain, maybe the beans will be all right -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I hope so. Christine Romans reporting live from Iowa this morning.
Was Mitt Romney's overseas trip a success or a failure? That's our talk back question today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, was Mitt Romney's overseas trip a success or a failure? Either or depending on whether you're a Democrat or a Republican.
If you ask the Obama campaign, Romney's trip was an unmitigated flop.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISER: He both offended our closest ally and triggered a troubling reaction in the most sensitive region of the world. He certainly didn't prove to anyone that he passed the commander-in-chief test.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That's because of what Democrats are calling Romney's gaffes, like questioning Britain's readiness for the Olympics and comments about Palestinian culture which managed to offend both the Brits and the Palestinians. Romney also accuses the media of being more interested in diverting attention from things like the bad economy than being accurate. And says he's just a man who speaks his mind.
On the Olympics, he told ABC --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I tend to tell people what I actually believe and the comments that were made in the media is something which I felt was an honest reflection of what was being concerned -- or what was concerning folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: To former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Romney's trip was a success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The visit to Israel and the visit to Poland were very effective and drew a very real contrast between Obama's policies, which have been largely anti- Israeli and anti-Polish, and where Romney would be, which is returning to a classical American friendship with both Israel and Poland.
COSTELLO: But if the coverage of the so-called gaffes was to deflect attention from the economy, why did Mr. Romney go abroad to begin with? Democrats say if Romney wants to burnish his diplomatic credentials, that means dealing effectively with not only people you like but those you don't.
So the talk back question today, was Romney's overseas trip a success or a failure? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
That Chinese swimmer grabs another record-breaking gold. But whispers about her continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is just about 30 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories:
Fast food chain Chick-Fil-A remains in the spotlight this morning. In a show of support for the company's president and his stand against same-sex marriage, thousands are expected to eat at the restaurant today in what some are calling Chick-Fil-A appreciation day.
Republican Ted Cruz claims victory in Texas, winning the primary runoff for U.S. Senate. This is a big victory for the Tea Party movement after high profile Republicans, including Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum, stumped for Cruz.
Cruz defeated fellow Republican David Dewhurst. Dewhurst has been lieutenant governor to Rick Perry for nearly a decade.
A new full service hospital is preparing to open its doors seven years after hurricane Katrina. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the $50 million facility in St. Bernard Parish. The hospital which plans to open in September will include a free clinic and doctors' offices.
OK. So here's a question for you. Would you buy shares of Apple if they were cheaper? At least one expert is saying the company could soon split its stock, and if Apple does that, it could join the Dow.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange where the bell is ringing.
Good morning.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The bell is ringing. But let's get right to that Apple speculation. It really caught our eye because an analyst from Bernstein Research published a note yesterday saying he actually believes that Apple may go ahead and split its stock. That's fabulous.
So what does that mean to you and me? Well, for one, it would mean there's more of a chance of it showing up in your 401(k) if it becomes a member of the Dow Industrials. Also, it means Apple shares will become a lot cheaper. One Apple share right now is trading at $615. So let's just say let's make it even. Say it's trading at $600, and it did a two for one split. It means you could buy one share for $300.
Now, the split could actually wind up even being bigger -- let's say a 10 for one. That would make 10 shares worth $60 each. Now, a cheaper price could wind up paving the way for apple to become a member of the Dow, and that's because right now it's too expensive to be included. What could wind up happening is Apple could single- handedly skew the entire index.
So, we did ask a Dow spokesman, and they said was they don't comment on changes to the Dow -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I'm sure you'll keep an eye on it for us.
KOSIK: I will.
COSTELLO: It's also a big day for the Federal Reserve. So, what's the expectation for when the Feds meeting wraps up this afternoon?
KOSIK: Yes, by the way, it does wrap up at 2:15 Eastern this afternoon. And everybody is expecting the Fed to keep interest rates at historic lows, and opinions are mixed about whether the Central Bank will do anything to step in and try to give a jolt to the economy, to try to stimulate the economy. Many believe that the Fed really needs to do something soon either today or the next meeting in September, because if it does something too close to the election, it could viewed as a political move.
Well, at the moment, the Dow is up 55 points, as we all wait for that clock to turn to 2:15 today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Alison Kosik reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange.
KOSIK: He's known as one of basketball's most famous bad boys. Dennis Rodman, he's writing an inspirational book for children.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Remember this from back in the day? Here is the story of a lovely lady. You know, who was bringing up three very lovely girls. You know the rest.
It's the theme song to the TV classic "The Brady Bunch."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: All I hear all day long in school is how great Marcia is at this, or how great Marcia did that. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I wanted to look exactly like Marcia, too.
We are hearing of a revival of the sitcom classic. It may be returning to the small screen very soon. "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer has more. Really?
A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: Yes. Two of my favorite Carols, by the way -- Carol Brady and Carol Costello.
COSTELLO: Oh, thank you.
HAMMER: But it does look like, Carol, America's favorite blended family, "The Brady Bunch," could be making a TV comeback. The report is coming from Deadline.com. And they are saying that Vince Vaughn is developing a new take on the series.
And he's working with CBS, serving as executive producer of the show. Apparently, the new version is going to revolve around the youngest Brady. That, of course, is Bobby. And, of course, Bobby is now fully grown. He is divorced and he's newly remarried with a new family in this version.
But here is the big twist for the 21st century. Bobby and his new bride share a child together, and their exes are still in the equation. Well, actually, it isn't so out of the norm in 2012.
This new setup really does reflect how TV and families have changed over the past four decades. Now, remember back in 1969, original Brady Bunch creator Sherwin Schwartz broke new ground simply by putting a mixed family on TV. And at the time he wanted Carol Brady to be a divorcee, but the network refused. So we never really got to find out why her first marriage ended.
But with Vince Vaughn at the helm, it's sure to be funny. I just hope they manage to keep some version of the theme song, updated a little maybe.
COSTELLO: That would be cool. I love that theme song.
Two words you wouldn't necessarily put together, A.J., Dennis Rodman and children's book.
HAMMER: Yes. Dennis Rodman certainly has been called a lot of things over his lifetime. Until now children's author was not one of them. But the NBA Hall of Famer has written a book for kids called "Dennis The Wild Bull". It's going to be released in September and it will be dedicated to Rodman's children.
He hasn't released any details about the plot just yet. But what we do know is there's a cartoon bull involved, and that Rodman probably has a lot of life lessons to dole out. And according to the book's blog, the book has the sole purpose of conveying good lessons to children based on Dennis' own experiences as a world class athlete while overcoming obstacles as a child.
Of course, Carol, I want to know what's Dennis going to wear for the big book lunch. Remember when he showed up to that New York bookstore wearing a wedding dress, promoting his autobiography back in 1996. He has to figure out a way to top that.
COSTELLO: A clown outfit maybe? And I mean no offense by that.
I just got three emails from people wondering who would play Alice in the new "Brady Bunch."
HAMMER: That's an excellent question. I don't even have a casting suggestion just yet, but I'll come up with one. Maybe we can bring in Maggie Smith.
COSTELLO: That would be great.
HAMMER: I've been watching "Downton Abbey" a lot lately. She could play anything. It would be interesting to see a Brit in Alice's role.
COSTELLO: It would. A.J., thanks so much.
HAMMER: You got it.
COSTELLO: A.J. will be back with us next hour with more showbiz headlines.
We know Cuba Gooding, Jr. for his famous line "Show Me the Money." Why "show me the warrant" may be more accurate today.
And a woman is kidnapped and then later rescued -- thanks to the TSA.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's human nature to invent, right? It's human nature to try to make your life better. It's human nature to try to make the world around you a better place. And what stops people is to actually do that and execute on all of those ideas. It's really freaking hard.
Good ideas should find their way onto shelves because they are the ideas of people with the right luck or circumstance. They should find their ways onto shelves because they are just great ideas. That's it. Plain and simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty-two minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now:
Fast food chain Chick-Fil-A remains in the spotlight and a show of support for the company's president and his stand against same-sex marriage, thousands are expected to eat at the restaurant today in what some are calling Chick-Fil-A appreciation day.
Two alert TSA agents free a woman who was beaten and kidnapped last month while she was on vacation in Miami. Her abductors took her to Miami's international airport, and they were going to catch a flight. They were going through security when the agents noticed this woman's bruises and her suspicious behavior. That's when the woman told the TSA agent she had been kidnapped. The agents detained four people with her. Two of them face charges, including kidnapping, false imprisonment, and battery.
In money news, Cinnabon is now open in downtown Tripoli. The Atlanta-based company is the first U.S. franchise in Libya, with plans to open nine more locations there over the next four years. The bakery cafe also serves Carville ice cream.
In weather news -- excessive heat and little chance of rain is straining Tulsa's ability to keep up with water demand. The mayor is asking people to voluntarily conserve water. Residents are asked to limit watering outside between midnight and noon, in the hoops of avoiding mandatory restrictions.
A Virginia man literally owes his life to his daughter. The 22- year-old woman found him trapped under his car and she sprang into action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUREN KORNACKI, SAVED FATHER'S LIFE: Lifted up right here and just kind of -- I can't do it on your car. I kind of threw it, like I shoved my body into it as hard as I could, and then I came back and dragged him out. And started CPR.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Amazing. Alec Kornacki has broken ribs and some other fractures, but he is expected to make a full recovery -- thanks to his daughter.
Social media is bringing a whole new dimension to the Olympic Games as people hit Twitter or Facebook to celebrate the thrill of victory. But as Matthew Chance reports, it can also make the agony of defeat a whole lot worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): It's painful enough to finish fourth in the Olympics. So Tom Daley didn't serve this. After narrowly missing out on a medal in the men's synchronized diving event on Monday, the British Olympian received an abusive message from a user called Riley69. "You let your dad down," it said. "I hope you know that."
Daley was famously close to his father, who died of brain cancer last year. He retweeted the message and responded, "After giving it my all, you get idiots sending me this."
British police say they have arrested a teenager on suspicion of malicious communication. Online abuse like this is called "trolling" in social media circles and big events like the Olympics this really bring the trolls out.
CORINNE SWEET, PSYCHOLOGIST: I think the Internet has given people a cloak of invisibility, the kind of an anonymous thing where they feel they can do anything, say anything, with no boundaries. It's what I call netiquette. We've lost our ability to think what is appropriate and to behave appropriately.
CHANCE (on camera): Already there's been more than half a dozen instances of Twitter-related Olympic scandals. The Swiss Olympic team expelled one of its sportsmen earlier this week after he posted a threatening and racist message about South Korea after losing a soccer match to them. Michel Morganela here had tweeted that the South Koreans can go and burn and referred to them as a bunch of mongoloids.
Earlier a Greek triple jumper was dropped from her team after posting a tweet that "Mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus in Greece could feed off Africans immigrants in the country."
And then on Sunday U.S. soccer player Hope Solo was chastised by her coach for using Twitter to question the knowledge of all the soccer analyst, once famous soccer player herself and now employed by NBC, the American television network which owns broadcast rights to the games.
(voice-over): Most Twitter traffic, of course, has been positive, allowing Olympic athletes and spectators to participate in a communal discussion. But it has also exposed what can be a very un- Olympic spirit at these 2012 games.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Was Mitt Romney's overseas trip a success or a failure? That's what we're asking you this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A 12-year-old boy scrapes his arm while playing basketball in gym class and a few days later, he dies.
Rory Staunton went to the hospital after getting the cut. He was throwing up, he felt some pain in his leg. Doctors said he was just dehydrated. They gave him some Tylenol and they sent him home. But days later on April 1st he was on his death bed, he returned to the hospital. And doctors said he had sepsis, a preventable infection and it killed him. It's sepsis that's the correct pronunciation. Doctors had missed the warning signs. That New York hospital is now changing its discharge procedures.
Cases like Rory's are more common than you might think, though, but it's not easy for hospitals to track the numbers. Some experts estimate medical mistakes result in 200,000 American deaths every year.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote about this topic for a "New York Times" op-ed piece this week. It's in the paper today, right?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
COSTELLO: Well, thanks for joining us.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: So you talk about over treating and under treating.
GUPTA: The case of Rory Staunton I think was a very specific type of mistake. And it's something that we've seen you know really since we started tracking these types of things. In his case he did have certain lab results that were checked when he was in the hospital initially. But the problem was those lab results weren't looked at by somebody who should have substantially done something about it.
And it was just a test was ordered but there was no follow up on the test. And when you talk about medical mistakes, you know the thing that got people's attention a lot was in 1999, there was a study that came out that said medical mistakes alone could be killing up to 98,000 people a year.
COSTELLO: Wow.
GUPTA: And what I really wanted to write about was 12 years or 13 years later, how have we done? And the answer is not very well. In fact we're probably closer to 200,000 people die from medical mistakes every year so the numbers are going up and not down.
COSTELLO: You always hear about the number of lawsuits being filed against doctors. You would think, you know, that there are so many lawsuits that the number of medical mistakes would drop.
GUPTA: You know it's very interesting because in some ways that's absolutely true. But in some ways it could be counter intuitively the opposite. And that is this idea that as a result of being fearful of being sued, doctors or hospital institutions as a whole they may be doing more procedures, more tests, more things to try and mitigate any potential lawsuits down the road.
COSTELLO: So that's where the over treating comes in.
GUPTA: So now you're doing more treatment which in lies a stunning irony. You're doing more treatment because you want to avoid making mistakes but every time you do anything you inject the possibility of an error. A medication could have an allergic reaction. A CT Scan may uncover something that requires a biopsy and subsequent anesthesia. A procedure, you know, you could give someone general anesthesia and subject them to that risk.
So there are all sorts of different results of that.
COSTELLO: So what's the answer?
GUPTA: I think you know, I think ultimately -- I think it doesn't -- it's not a mandate-type thing that is handed down in terms of specifically talking about defensive medicine. I think a lot of this comes from culturally within the hospitals. So hospitals, for example, when they see a mistake occur, the doctor operates on the wrong side of the head.
Now in my hospital for example there is a time out protocol. It's literally called the time out, any time you are in the operating room before anything is done, everyone stops. Is this the right patient? Are we on the right side of the body? Are we doing the correct procedure? Does everyone agree? Does anyone not agree? Everyone is empowered. That's -- it may sound like a simple thing Carol. COSTELLO: Yes.
GUPTA: But it makes a world of difference. So I think, I think a lot of this is just cultural and driven by the -- by the health care team members themselves.
COSTELLO: Well it's an interesting op-ed. And thank you for sharing some of it with us this morning. Also, your novel "Monday Mornings".
GUPTA: There you go.
COSTELLO: It's on the "New York Times" best seller list. It's now out, it's fiction, it's based on your experiences as a surgeon. It's going to be a TV show. You're like Superman.
GUPTA: You know, it's going to be interesting. The TV show comes out next year. So we'll see what you think.
COSTELLO: I can't wait. I really can't wait. I admire you. Thank you so much Sanjay.
GUPTA: Thanks Carol. I appreciate it.
COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories. The question for you this morning, "Was Romney's overseas trip a success or a failure?"
This from Mark, "Romney's trip seemed forced and artificial. He's ill at ease in front of people or crowds he or his people can't control. He desperately wants to be liked as much as President Obama but he can't pull it off."
This from Michael, "Obama did the international trip since he had zero experience in that department along with many others. Romney did nothing to hurt his chances and the Britain thing is overblown."
This from Charles, "Epic failure. He was better off campaigning here. We want to hear how he's going to fix the economy, not his record with the Olympics."
This from Joe, "I desperately want to see Governor Romney do well and was looking for good things out of this trip. But he and his campaign staff have proved time and time again they have no concept of what they are doing."
And this from Kyle, "I just don't get the point of the whole trip. Did Britain, Poland and Israel become battleground states all of a sudden? Do they have more electoral votes than we thought?"
Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. More of your comments in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Snoop Dogg, he changes his name and his musical style and it's causing a bit of an uproar. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After all these years of dog --
DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Please welcome Snoop Dogg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snoop Dogg is --
REGIS PHILBIN, TV HOST: Here's Snoop Dogg.
MOOS: Suddenly we're faced with lion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snoop Lion, give it up for Snoop Lion.
SNOOP LION, REGGAE ARTIST: I could never become Snoop Lion if I was never Snoop Dogg.
MOOS: Did you hear the news? Snoop Dogg changed his name to Snoop Lion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snoop lion?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I like the old Snoop Dogg.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I think it's a dumb idea.
MOOS: But he's been reincarnated which is the name of a film about his spiritual journey. He went to Jamaica at a Rastafarian temple, a high priest suggested he's a lion, not a dog. Now --
LION: I want to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion.
MOOS: And instead of rap he's doing reggae.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: But is the switch to Snoop Lion permanent? As the Web site, Holy Molly put it -- he better not be lion to us.
LION: Snoop Lion is the elevation of Snoop Dogg.
MOOS: We haven't had to I adjust to such a jarring name change since Puff Daddy switched P. Diddy and then diddled with the P.
P. DIDDY, ARTIST: Enough is enough with the p. Just call me Diddy.
MOOS: Online posters called Snoop, the artist formerly known as Dogg, the nickname reportedly from his mom because he reminded her of snoopy with his long Snoopy-shaped face. True, the name got a bad rap from former senator Alan Simpson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snoopy, snoopy poop Dogg. MOOS: Somehow that insult wouldn't doesn't work as well with lion. Though Snoop still applies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, snoop.
MOOS: And there is this down side to the name change. Pity the fans stuck with merchandise like the Snoop Dogg floor meat or walking around in pajamas wearing Snoop Dogg slippers.
MOOS: some may shrug of the earth shaking change. He changed his name to Snoop Lion. I kid you not.
LETTERMAN: Top ten things that sound cool when said by Snoop Dogg. Here we go, number 10.
Lion: Yo.
MOOS: But will "Yo" still sound cool if said by Snoop Lion?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Anything with Lion. I'm a Leo.
MOOS: In the Lion kingdom, the news probably merits something between a yawn and a roar. Jeanne Moos, CNN. What's your message to Snoop Lion? New York.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
